YOU HELPED LISA START A NEW LIFE
“There was no Bible. I just thought God was good and the devil was bad.” From a young age, she struggled with feeling disconnected, and drugs became a way to cope. By the time she was 30, addiction had taken her far from the life she wanted.
“I went to prison. I got a three-year sentence and my kids were one and four when I went.”
As her release date approached, fear replaced hope. Lisa needed a release address in order to leave prison, but her family couldn’t help. Without one, she would stay incarcerated.
So Lisa wrote a letter to Everett Gospel Mission. She explained her situation, asked for help and waited.
When Suzanne, a case manager, responded with a yes, everything changed. When Lisa arrived at the Mission, she was scared, but thanks to partners like you, she found a warm welcome.
For the first time in a long while, Lisa had safety and a place to belong. “There was structure and it was good. I needed structure,” she says. Through the Genesis program and volunteering at the front desk, she began to feel rooted. “I really felt like I belonged somewhere.”
Meals were a meaningful part of that care, especially after experiencing hunger while living on the streets.
The holidays brought moments of healing she hadn’t expected. At Thanksgiving, “the Mission did this big, huge dinner,” and she was able to spend time with her kids. But Christmas left the deepest mark. Waking up to gifts for herself and her children, Lisa remembers thinking, “I am not deserving of these gifts.”
That’s when she heard words from our team that stayed with her: “God loves you anyways.”
Today, Lisa’s life looks very different. “I trust God… that was kind of my missing piece in life.” She’s worked as a recovery coach, peer counselor and case manager, walking alongside others experiencing homelessness and addiction. “It just gave me so much purpose.”
Now, she cares full-time for her mother and continues to live out her faith daily. “I get to show up for myself and for people.”
Lisa is clear about what made this transformation possible. “Without the donors, I wouldn’t have been able to get the resources I got. It might not save everybody, but it saved me.”
This Easter, your gift of meals can help welcome someone experiencing homelessness with nourishment, dignity and hope, opening the door to new life, just like it did for Lisa.
